House & Bird - About H & B

House & Bird is acoustic folk noir. The Chicago-based duo combines lilting female with rooted male vocals, supported by vivid lyrics, dark melodies, intricate harmonies, and an eclectic variety of instruments: acoustic & electric guitars, piano, banderia, banjo, harmonicas, dulcimer, percussion, melodica, upright bass, xylophone, voice and an antique children's piano.

Live performance portraits by Jenny Blair, 2/1/08.

A classically trained vocalist, in 2006 Elisabeth turned enthusiastically to folk singing and songwriting, influenced by such female vocalist/songwriters as Sandy Denny, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Björk. Before House & Bird, she sang frequently with bluegrass group The Giving Tree Band as a guest vocalist, and appeared on their album Unified Folk Theory; she collaborated with author Connor Coyne, creating a theme song for his upcoming novel, Hungry Rats; and more recently she fronted an experimental musical performance/installation by artists Robert Metrick & John Ploof entitled 'The Power of Then' in the Chicago Cultural Center's festival 'Site Unseen.'

Folk Noirist with a sweet hat and a love of words, Ryan has spent the past few years soaking his vocal chords in whiskey and coffee. Before forming House & Bird, he played electric bass in a few short-lived punk/noise-rock bands while attending college in Champaign, IL. He eventually moved to Chicago, refocusing his efforts into songwriting under the watchful sounds of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, John Lennon, Isaac Brock, Sam Beam, and Harry Nilsson. Along with songwriting, Ryan has a keen interest in the unique timbre of different instruments.